1. Field
Exemplary embodiments relate to a thin film transistor substrate, a method of inspecting the thin film transistor substrate, and a display device including the thin film transistor substrate.
2. Discussion
A liquid crystal display typically includes a display panel displaying an image and a backlight unit providing light to the display panel. The display panel usually includes a thin film transistor substrate on which thin film transistors are formed, a color filter substrate, on which color filters are formed, facing the thin film transistor substrate, and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the thin film transistor substrate and the color filter substrate.
Typically, a thin film transistor substrate includes a plurality of pixels each being driven by a corresponding thin film transistor of the thin film transistor substrate. Pixel voltages are applied to the pixels by the thin film transistors and an arrangement of liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer is changed based on the pixel voltages. In this manner, a transmittance of light passing through the liquid crystal layer may be controlled based on the arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules, which facilitates displaying a desired image.
Conventionally, when a display panel is being manufactured, various inspections are utilized to detect defects in products. These inspections may be classified into different types, such as visual inspection (VI), gross test (G/T) inspection, final test inspection, array test inspection, etc.
Among the various types of inspections, visual inspection typically entails applying an inspection signal to the thin film transistor substrate using a shorting bar. After the inspection signal is applied to the thin film transistor substrate, short or open states between, for instance, gate lines, data lines, and pixels in an active (e.g., display) area in which the pixels are formed may be detected by the naked eye. For example, visual inspection may be conducted by observing a resistance image after applying a predetermined voltage to the gate lines connected to the pixels of the thin film transistor substrate.
Since manufacturing yield typically drives cost, there is a need for an approach that provides efficient, cost-effective techniques to inspect thin film transistor substrates at various manufacturing stages, as well as in various areas of the thin film transistor substrate.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and, therefore, it may contain information that does not form any part of the prior art nor what the prior art may suggest to a person of ordinary skill in the art.